Method of managing work orders at a well site

ABSTRACT

A method of managing work orders that well companies issue to contractors working at remote well sites, involves a wireless communication link between two computers. Work orders specifying work to be done to a well are stored on a home base computer. Using the wireless communication link, the work orders are communicated to a mobile computer at the well site. This allows a contractor to refer to the work order while the work is being performed, and allows the contractor to immediately notify the well company when the job is done. The mobile computer can be transported between well sites by carrying the computer on a service vehicle, which the contractor uses in performing service operations specified in work orders. While the service vehicle is at a well site, other independent contractors can share the same computer, thus creating a central station for collecting and displaying work order related information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention generally pertains to service work performed at awell site and more specifically pertains to a method of managing suchwork.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] After a well is set up and operating to draw petroleum, water orother fluid up from within the ground, various service operations areperiodically performed to maintain the well. Such service operations mayinclude replacing worn parts such as a pump, sucker rods, inner tubing,and packer glands; pumping chemical treatments or hot oil down into thewell bore; and pumping cement into the well bore to partially close offa portion of the well (or to shut it down entirely). Since wells areoften miles apart from each other, the maintenance or service operationsare usually performed by a mobile unit or service vehicle having specialonboard servicing equipment suited to perform the work. Some examples ofservice vehicles include a chemical tank truck or trailer, a cementtruck or trailer, a hot-oiler tank truck or trailer, and a portablework-over service rig having a hoist to remove and install wellcomponents (e.g., sucker rods, tubing, etc.).

[0005] Service vehicles are often owned by independent contractors thatthe well owner or well operator hire to service the wells. When a wellneeds servicing, the process of actually getting the work done andaccurately documenting that fact can be quite involved. Typically, arepresentative of the company that owns and/or operates the welldetermines what service operations are needed. After consulting withvarious contactors, the company representative prepares a work orderthat specifies what work is to be performed and at what price. Therepresentative typically mails the work order to the representative'schosen contractor. The contractor, in turn, dispatches a crew to thewell site to perform the work. However, if the actual work order remainsat the contractor's office, the crew cannot readily refer back to theorder as the work is being performed, which can lead to errors. Once ajob or specific service operation is completed, the crew returns to thecontractor's office to report the completion of their assignment. Toreceive payment for the work, the contractor typically submits aninvoice to the accounts payable department of the well company. However,personnel in accounting may have no idea of whether the work hasactually been performed satisfactorily. Thus, payment of the invoice maybe delayed until after those in accounting acquire verification that thework has been completed as specified in the original work order. Thewhole process becomes even more complicated when a particular wellservicing project involves numerous work orders that are assigned toseveral different independent contractors.

[0006] Consequently, there is a need for a more efficient and accuratemethod of managing work orders that well companies issue to independentcontractors that work at remote well sites.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] To avoid the problems and limitation of current methods ofmanaging well-related work orders, it is an object of the invention toprovide an electronic copy of a work order directly at the well site atwhich service operations are being performed on a well.

[0008] A second object of the invention is to allow multiple independentcontractors access to several work orders by way of a computer carriedby a service vehicle of one of the contractors.

[0009] A third object of the invention is to provide a wirelesscommunication link between one computer at a home base location andanother computer at a remote well site, wherein well-related work orderinformation can be exchanged between the two computers.

[0010] A fourth object is to allow a company representative at a homebase computer to acknowledge the completion of a service operationperformed by an independent contractor at a remote well site.

[0011] A fifth object is to provide a method of effectively managingwork orders that pertain to pumping, manipulating sucker rods,manipulating tubing, perforating a well pipe, and/or downhole logging.

[0012] A sixth object is enter into a computer a well site identifierthat allows a contractor at the well site to access the appropriate workorder for the particular well being serviced.

[0013] A seventh object is to allow a representative of the well companyto enter an input into a computer to indicate that the representativeaccepts the work done by a contractor.

[0014] These and other objects of the invention are provided by a methodof managing work orders by storing a work order on a home base computer,and then conveying the work order over a wireless communication link toanother computer that a service vehicle carries to at a remote wellsite.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of managingwork orders according to a currently preferred embodiment of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0016] Service operations to be performed by a contractor 10 on a well12 at a well site 15 can be managed from a remote location 14 by using amethod 16 illustrated in FIG. 1. Well 12 is schematically illustrated toencompass any apparatus for drawing a fluid (e.g., oil, gas, water,etc.) from the ground. In some embodiments of the invention, well 12includes a string of outer piping known as casing 18. When perforated,casing 18 provides a conduit that conveys fluid from within the groundto the inlet of a submerged reciprocating pump 20. An inner string ofpipe, known as tubing 22, provides a discharge conduit that conveys thefluid from the outlet of pump 20 to the surface. A powered pivoting beam(not shown) moves a string of sucker rods 24 up and down, which in turnmoves the pump's piston up and down to pump the fluid.

[0017] Any work done to well 12 is referred to as a service operation.Examples of service operations include, but are not limited tomanipulating sucker rods (e.g., installing, torquing, or replacing rods24, as indicated by arrow 26); manipulating tubing (e.g., installing,torquing, or replacing tubing 22, as indicated by arrow 28); perforatingcasing 18, as indicated by a perforating gun 30 suspended from a cableor wireline 32; down hole logging, as indicated by a transducer 34suspended from a wireline 36; pumping a fluid 38 (e.g., cement, acid,steam, hot oil, etc.) into well 12, as indicated by pump 40 and arrow42; welding; fracture treatments; drilling; stimulating; swabbing;bailing; testing; and various other work that is familiar to thoseskilled in the art.

[0018] Owners, operators, and/or well managers (all of which arereferred to herein and below as company 44) of well 12 may pay variouscontractors, such as contractors 10 and 46, to perform serviceoperations on well 12. Method 16 is especially useful in coordinatingthe efforts of independent contractors, such as when contractors 10 and46 are not employees of company 44, and/or when one contractor is not anemployee of the other.

[0019] To specify what work needs to be done, company 44 may issue oneor more work orders, such as work orders 48 and 50. Work order 48 mayspecify one or more service operations 52 intended for contractor 10,and work order 50 may specify one or more service operations 54 intendedfor contractor 46. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, company44 stores work orders 48 and 50 on a home base computer 56 at location14, which is remote relative to well site 15. The term, “computer” usedherein and below refers to any device for storing and/or possessingdigital information. Examples of a computer include, but are not limitedto items known as personal computers, PC, desktop computer, laptop,notebook, PLC (programmable logic controller), data logger, etc. In somecases, the computer may run common software such as Microsoft Word,Excel, Access; Visual Basic; C++ etc. The term, “remote locationrelative to well site 15” means that the location is beyond theimmediate property or land on which well 12 is contained or at leastone-mile away from well 12, whichever is greater.

[0020] To communicate work orders 48 and 50 to contractors 10 and 46 atwell site 15, contractor 10 uses a service vehicle 58 to transport(indicated by arrow 60) another computer 62 to well site 15. The term,“service vehicle” refers to any vehicle used to facilitate performingone or more service operations on well 12. Examples of a service vehicleinclude, but are not limited to, mobile work-over unit 58 and a tanker64. Workover unit 58 includes a variety of equipment including, but notlimited to, rod tongs, tubing tongs, and a wireline winch and/or a hoist66. Work-over unit 58 is particularly suited for removing or installingwell components, such as sucker rods, tubing, etc.; lowering instrumentsinto the well bore via a cable or wireline; and may even be used inactually drilling the well bore itself Tanker 64 is schematicallyillustrated to encompass all other types of service vehicles including,but not limited to, pumping vehicles, such as a chemical tank truck ortrailer, a cement truck or trailer, and a hot-oiler tank truck ortrailer.

[0021] With computer 62 being at well site 15, work orders 48 and 50 canbe communicated from computer 56 to computer 62 through a wirelesscommunication link 68. The term “wireless communication link” refers todata being transmitted over a certain distance, wherein over thatcertain distance the data is transmitted through a medium of air and/orspace rather than wires. Wireless communication link 68 is schematicallyillustrated to represent a wide variety of systems that are well knownto those skilled in the art of wireless communication. For example, witha modem 70 and an antenna 72 associated with computer 56, and anothermodem 74 and an antenna 76 for computer 62, data pertaining to workorders 48 and 50 can be exchanged over the Internet between computers 56and 62. The data can be in any of a variety of common formats including,but not limited to, HTML, e-mail, etc.

[0022] Work orders 48 and 50 having been communicated to computer 62allows contractors 10 and 46 to review the work orders directly at wellsite 15. Once contractor 10 performs the service operation specified inwork order 48, contractor 10 enters an input 78 into computer 62 thatindicates that his service operation has been performed. Input 78 can beentered using any one of a variety of means including, but not limitedto, a keyboard 80. Likewise, once contractor 46 performs the serviceoperation specified in work order 50, contractor 46 enters an input 82into computer 62 that indicates that her service operation has beenperformed. Information 84 and 86 that indicate that inputs 78 and 82have been entered is then communicated from computer 62 to computer 56using wireless communication link 68. An example of information 84 and86 would be a statement such as, “Service operation has been performed.”Information 84 and 86 thus notifies company 44 that the serviceoperations of work orders 48 and 50 have been performed, and feedback 88is displayed on computer 62 to indicate that information 84 or 86 hasbeen made available to computer 56. An example of feedback 88 would be astatement such as, “Completion of work order has been forwarded.”

[0023] In some embodiments of the invention, company 44 may communicatefrom computer 56 to computer 62 an acknowledgement 90 that company 44has actually received information 84 or 86 that indicating that aparticular service operation has been performed.

[0024] To verify that contractor 10 has satisfactorily performed aservice operation, a field representative 92 of company 44 may enter aninput 94 (e.g., a password or confidential code) that indicatesrepresentative 92 accepts the work performed by contractor 10. Input 94may then be used enable the communication of input 78, information 84,and/or acknowledgement 90.

[0025] In some versions of the invention, contactor 10 or 46 may enter awell site identifier 96 into computer 62 by using keyboard 80 and/orselecting from a menu of well site identifiers stored in computer 62.Well site identifier 96 could be some alphanumeric value that identifiesthe well by a name or address. This could allow a contractor access tothe appropriate work orders for a particular well.

[0026] Although the invention is described with reference to a preferredembodiment, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications are well within the scope of the invention.Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be determined by referenceto the claims that follow.

I claim:
 1. A method of managing work of a first contractor at a wellsite, wherein the first contractor uses a first service vehicle tofacilitate performing the work for a company, comprising: storing afirst work order on a first computer associated with the company,wherein the first computer is at a remote location relative to the wellsite, and the first work order identifies a first service operation thatis to be performed by the first contractor at the well site;transporting a second computer to the well site using the first servicevehicle; providing a wireless communication link between the firstcomputer and the second computer; communicating the work order from thefirst computer to the second computer through the wireless communicationlink; inputting into the second computer first input that indicates thatthe first service operation identified by the first work order has beenperformed by the first contractor; communicating from the secondcomputer to the first computer information that indicates that the firstinput has been inputted into the second computer, thereby notifying thecompany that the first service operation has been performed; anddisplaying on the second computer feedback that indicates that theinformation has been made available to the first computer, therebyaffirming that the company has been notified that the first serviceoperation has been performed.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising communicating from the first computer to the second computerconfirmation that indicates whether the company acknowledges receipt ofthe first input.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising inputtingsecond input into at least one of the first computer and the secondcomputer, wherein the second input indicates a representative of thecompany approves the first input, whereby the representative acceptsthat the first input indicates that the first service operation hasactually been performed.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the workinvolves pumping.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the work involvespumping cement.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the work involvespumping an acid.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the work involvesmanipulating sucker rods.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the workinvolves manipulating tubing.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the workinvolves perforating a well pipe.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein thework involves downhole logging.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising accessing the work order from the well site by entering awell site identifier into the second computer.
 12. A method of managingwork of a first contractor and a second contractor at a well site,comprising: storing a first work order on a first computer at a remotelocation relative to the well site, wherein the first work orderidentifies a first service operation able to be performed by the firstcontractor; storing a second work order on the first computer at aremote location relative to the well site, wherein the second work orderidentifies a second service operation able to be performed by the secondcontractor; transporting a second computer to the well site; providing awireless communication link between the first computer and the secondcomputer; communicating the first work order and the second work orderfrom the first computer to the second computer through the wirelesscommunication link; inputting into the second computer first input thatindicates that the first service operation of the first work order hasbeen performed by the first contractor; inputting into the secondcomputer second input that indicates that the second service operationof the second work order has been performed by the second contractor;and displaying on the second computer feedback that indicates that theinformation has been made available to the first computer, therebyaffirming that the company has been notified that the first serviceoperation and the second service operation have been performed.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the first service operation and the secondservice operation are performed for a company associated with the firstcomputer.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: using a firstservice vehicle to assist the first contractor in performing the firstservice operation; and using a second service vehicle to assist thesecond contractor in performing the second service operation.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising using the first service vehiclein transporting the second computer to the well site.
 16. The method ofclaim 13, inputting third input into at least one of the first computerand the second computer, wherein the third input indicates that arepresentative of the company approves the first input and the secondinput.
 17. The method of claim 13, further comprising displaying on thesecond computer feedback that indicates that the information has beencommunicated to the first computer, thereby affirming that the companyhas been notified that the first service operation has been performed.18. A method of managing work at a well site, wherein the work is to beperformed by a first contractor and a second contractor doing work for acompany, wherein the first contractor has a first service vehicle andthe second contractor has a second service vehicle, comprising: storinga first work order on a first computer associated with the company,wherein the first computer is at a remote location relative to the wellsite, and the first work order identifies a first service operation thatis to be performed by the first contractor at the well site; using thefirst service vehicle to assist the first contractor in performing thefirst service operation; storing a second work order on the firstcomputer, wherein the second work order identifies a second serviceoperation that is to be performed by the second contractor at the wellsite; using the second service vehicle to assist the second contractorin performing the second service operation; transporting a secondcomputer to the well site using the first service vehicle; providing awireless communication link between the first computer and the secondcomputer; communicating the first work order and the second work orderfrom the first computer to the second computer through the wirelesscommunication link; inputting into the second computer first input thatindicates that the first service operation identified by the first workorder has been performed by the first contractor; inputting into thesecond computer second input that indicates that the second serviceoperation identified by the second work order has been performed by thesecond contractor; inputting third input into at least one of the firstcomputer and the second computer, wherein the third input indicates thata representative of the company approves the first input and the secondinput; communicating from the second computer to the first computerinformation that indicates that the first input and the second inputhave been inputted into the second computer; thereby notifying thecompany that the first service operation has been performed by the firstcontractor and the second service operation has been performed by thesecond contractor; and displaying on the second computer feedback thatindicates that the information has been communicated to the firstcomputer, thereby affirming that the company has been notified that thefirst service operation and the second service operation have beenperformed.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the work involvespumping.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the work involvesmanipulating sucker rods.